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Prequel 2: So You Think You Have What it Takes
What Time Is It? Discordia: Sun peaked in the window of the Hokage’s office and landed on the sleeping form of Hachiko Moto. She was hunched over the desk with her cheek flush against the grain of the wood. Her lips formed a scowl as it hit her and forced her eyes open and to acknowledge that night had faded to day and that she had fallen asleep somewhere in between. She stretched back into a deep yawn shielded by a balled up fist. “What time was it” she asked to no one in particular because the only other being in her office was the still slumbering Tibetan Mastiff at her feet and she did not expect Kana to reply. Hachi rose to her feet adjusting her kimono and trying to flatten the assortment of wrinkles that had collected over night. She ran her fingers through her dark locks and tried to look slightly more presentable than she imagined she looked. She wiped the last remnants of sleep from her eyes and moved towards the table in a corner of her office that had a hot plate. She put a kettle on it and fixed herself a cup of tea and rustled around for a small package of shortbread cookies. It was not much of a breakfast, but better than none. On her desk was the never ending stack of paper work. She took her seat again and snatched the file she had set aside last night. “Yumo Jiryoku, hmmm. Let’s see if you have what it takes to be a jounin.” She flipped through the pages as her brow creased and she tried to put the mass amount information the file contained into organized thoughts. Hopefully, her scatterbrained assistant remembered to schedule an interview with him. She took a sip of her tea and followed it with a bite of cookie, random crumbs escaping her. Fuck, I did it again.. Kuzanku: Yumo felt cold wood against his naked body. Uncertain on where he was or why he was naked. His eyes opened slowly as everything was blurry for a few seconds. He was laying on his stomach, sighing a bit as he rolled over onto his back. His eyes peered down his body and widened a bit as he grumbled. His mouth opened wide as he yawned, his arms pushing high upwards as his butt and back rubbed against the wood floor. His right arm reached over towards the right scrambling for something to grab. Suddenly, he felt cloth sheets; with ease he pulled himself up. Yumo stood up as he noticed a mirror. With a sinister smirk he put both his arms behind his head and flexed in the mirror staring at his naked body. For some reason he had an unhealthy obsessions with himself. As he was flexing he noticed something; a blood stain on the mirror. He lowered his arms to his sides as his eye shook with fear "Oh no...please don't tell me.." he closed his eyes and sighed preparing himself for the worst. He pivoted on his right heel to the right, facing the bed as he opened his eyes. As soon as he did he grumbled and rolled them "Fuck, I did it again..". The bed had been covered in blood. The Jashinist ritual symbol covering the white sheets. In the center had been a large deer. It's body mangled and ripped open as Yumo stared at it uncertain of what had happened. He scanned the room for any dead people, searching every corner and to his luck there were none. He sighed with relief before bending down, grabbing his clothing, and heading to the bathroom. In the bathroom he brushed his teeth, showered, washed his face, did his hair, and got dressed. He stepped out of it and opened the door to the Inn, uncaring of the mess he had left behind. The Inn and the rooms in the Inn had been separated. The upstairs held the rooms with a staircase that led right into the village. While the downstairs was the pub and bar area. Yumo walked down the steps and over to the Kage's mansion were his appointment had been made. After walking for a few minutes he had arrived at the Kage's mansion. He opened the door and stepped into the main waiting room as a woman had proceeded to bring him the Kage's office. The woman had left him right at the door to her office. He hated knocking on doors and waiting for a response, it just bothered him. For now he sucked up his phobia and knocked on the door before grasping the knob and turning it. Yumo would slightly push open the door letting his head pop in through the crack before he stated "I have a appointment with the Hokage? Yumo?". | Elemental Shinobi of the Seven Nations XxdeadrikxX: "He couldn't have gotten far, lets get to him." The sun grazed the land with its heated raze scorching the very earth as the flowers seemed to enjoy every bit. The wind never passed as the foot steps of Shinobi were able to pass through searching for seomthing or someone. "He cannot leave... We must find him he is the strength of our Village we can't let him find out the truth..." The truth? This truth one would seek only to find not peace, but despair in ones mind as if to say let go and die, fall to your knees with blood coursing from your eyes, but to this being the Shinobi were looking for, he saw truth as something more thne just what he will get in result of learning what he could not believe. He saw truth as a good thing, knowingly its consequences would tear his body apart, but it seemed just this male was able to go through with it all, even on such a normal bright day where the clous never showed and the grassy field laid like a soft plain, but yet bodies, hundreds of dead bodies decorated the grassy plain, blood seemed to only seep into the earth leaving everything clean as if it were washed away. "We are almost their, push further on!" The shinobi hurried to the location of nothing but death. Most Bodies trampled with boulders, struck with lighting or even cut to pieces by sharp winds, but most scrotched by znd degrees flames. Some even still alive to where their screams could be hurt as they endure unimaginable pain. However one just stood in the middle slouched over, arms hangins infront of him scortched badly with 3rd degree burns. Everybone in his arms broken or even shattered, hardly able to breath as if he had been fighting for years, but it was just only a few weeks. The shinobi came in witnessing the devastaing and spotting the one Shinobi who seemed weakened to a point where he could not fight any longer. "What have you done Shojin... What have you done..." His clothing tattered, his black vest ripped and cut, blood trinkling from the holes from swords piercing or cutting his body, his skin all brusied and cut with scars of many sword and kunais. His body shaking and his eyes unable to open, but his ears seemed to be the only thing that worked for him. His head turned to their voices and just dropped to his knees. "I... will... find..." His sentenced dropped like disappearing winds and then he... Then he woke up laying in a river on the north side of a small hill, his back tot he ground as the waterran ove rhis body cooling his self. Though the battle was nothing but a dream he thoguht, it actually was a memory. He had no idea how he managed to escape, but he did His eyes opened to show their bright golden color and his black hair sparkling in the lushes flow of the small river. He got up quickly and began his venture through the forest, wondering, thinking and possibly looking for something... This is the begining of Shojin the Elemental Shinobi of the Seven Nations Hachi rose her head to acknowledge the man, the scent of blood clung to him like perfume on a loose woman. The Inuzuka part of Hachi, which was feral by nature, stirred inside her and she had to resist the urge to release a low rumbling growl that was in the pit of her stomach trying to erupt. Kana did not have as much control and the dog let out a fierce bark that was silenced by a simple motion of her hand. The dog cocked his head to the side and looked at Hachi before lying back down. Hachi relaxed a bit when she realized that it was animal blood rather than human blood. It was peculiar, yet she dismissed the train of thought that would satiate her curiosity. Her green eyes rimmed in a golden honey hue looked the man up and down before she finally spoke. “Welcome and have a seat Yumo.” Her hand flicked towards a chair across from her desk. “So you have turned in your application to become a jounin. Now, a jounin, it is not just about ability… which seem perfectly qualified for the position based on the reports in your files. However, a jounin is more than just a skilled ninja. They are a leader and a crucial part of life in Konoha that will shape the futures of the ninjas left in your care. May I ask what prompted you to apply, and what makes you think you are qualified?” She took another sip of tea and a bite from a cookie, her eyes never leaving the man in front of her as she awaited his answers. Kuzanku: Yumo stepped into the room as prompted. He watched as the Hokage and her companion seemed to stare him down like he had just killed someone. He stood in front of her desk in a polite manner, his arms hanging by his side as he listened to her questions. She told him to have a seat, so he did. He slid the chair out and sat in it, adjusting his hakama so that he wasn't all bunched up. After she had finished her questions he looked at her and cleared his throat "I have a lot of spare time. I've also got a lot of knowlege that I'd like to share with others. I was always rather smart in the academy as well. If I'm going to teach students I'm going to do it right.". He sighed a bit uncertain if that was the answer she wanted but that was the truth. He looked at her and continued "I was never properly to taught how to deal with some situations and because of that, I lost comrades. I don't want others to lose comrades as well..". His eyes looked lost as if he was peering into another world and no longer in Konoha. Memories of his comrades being killed in front of him seemed to flutter through his mind. These thoughts always ran through his mind. As a jashinist he had to kill, it was a blood lust he couldn't avoid. But, he could never erase the memories of his parents, siblings, and best friends screaming in pain. He shook his head shaking himself from the daze as he noticed her markings. He bit his lip underneath his mask and noticed the dog that had barked at him earlier. However, he just seemed to notice him now. He adjusted his posture in his chair to sit upright and in a formal manner. He wasn't going to lie, deep down he was rather nervous. | Leave. Me. Alone XxdeadrikxX: "Why me mother... father... Why me of all people. Be given this cursed power. Most don't even consider me a shinobi an abomination that should never walk this earth amongst them." Shojin said only to his elf, no one else aroound to accompany him. Passing by tree, by tree he couldn't help, but stare up t the clouds and wonder what could be or what should be. Yet he stayed tot he reality instead fo daydreaming. The forest came to a opening, a trail in view of his eyes a she stepped onto it. His gazed moved form left to right as he looked to his right now he coud see ginat open gates reading Konoha in big letters. His stomach began to growl as he looked down at his tummy rubbing it with his right hand. "I need somehting to eat... hopefully they are generous enough to share." He said unde rhis breath approaching the giant gates as he stepped over the threshold into a place he had never gone to. He stopped suddenly looking tot he Shinobi who came to his aid. "Welcome to Konoha, please speak your purpose of coming to our home." The shinobi looked directly at Shojin who stood motionless, his mouth never opening instead he stepped back a sif nervous, but then he spoke: "Please I am just in need of food, could you help me?" He asked as if to beg. The two looked back and forth at eachother and simply smiled as one tossed Shojin an apple. "There ya go, fresh from the stand enjoy yourself." Shojin caught the apple and quickly took a bite into it. as he wondered passed the two Shinobi who guarded the gates. Moving through the roads of this place he couldn't help but watch everyone move with so much peace and calmness it almost allowed him to blend in. Though his attire made him seem more like a rouge ninja he could feel the kindness of everyone though only a few gave him a dirty look, yet he did not mind them. Shojin entered a ally way where a it ended to a wooden fence that was rather tall and he leaned up against it continuing to snack on the apple in the shaded ally untill three figures, larger then his form approach him. "Umm, may I help you guys?" Shojin asked dropping the apple. The men approached cracking their knuckles and smirking with evil intentions. "Give us your money." They demanded as Shojin simply shook his head. The one in the middle stepped forward towards Shojin jerking him by the collar with both hands lifting Shojin into the sky as he scratched at the mans arm and gripping the mans wrists a she struggled to get free dangling over the ground below. "Check his pockets..." The man spoke giving another order, but to the two males beside him. They both went to the side of Shojin and dugg with in his pockets and patted his attire. "P-please. I-I don't have any money." Shojin so firghten he couldn't speak. The two stepped back and shook his head tot he one holding up Shojin by the collar. His face filled with anger cause dhim to throw Shojin tot eh Fence making a large thud noise near that could be heard in the Hokage office that was just near the ally way behind the fence Shojin was thrown into. His face ina gony he stood up panting with anger a she looked at the three who continued to approach with the intent of assualt. Feeling such threat Shojin's golden eyes turned to a holy white rimmed with a gold ring the pupil also being gold, this being his Kekkei Genkai. The three men stopped and looked at each other as they wonder what was about to happen. "Leave. Me. ALone!" His voice echoed through otut he ally causing heads to turn and the buildings ont he side to vibrate a bit even the ground below casuing cracks to form in the buildings. The three men ran out of the ally quickly. The shaking could also be felt as well as the yell of Shojin's voice near the Hokage's office. Honorable Intentions and the Will of Fire Discordia: His reply had not been what Hachi expected and it caused her to pause a moment and consider him. It was a noble reason and one she could respect. Her lips curved into the slightest traces of a smile. It was a rare but pleasant feeling when someone had their priorities in order. Still wanting to accomplish something and actually accomplishing it were two very different things. Hachiko straightened in her chair and flipped through the pages for a moment, her eyes finally leaving the man in front of her. Silence permeated the air as she considered what was written on the papers and she momentarily relived the losses Yumo had suffered. It saddened her, but even more so how matter of fact and cold the reports of them were on the crisp white lines of the paper. It was as if she was reading a dull history text of events that had no emotional merit. It irked her to the point where she slammed the file shut a little more forceful than intended due to the disgust that was welling up inside her and her eyes drifted to the ceiling for the briefest of moments as she struggled to clear her head and continue on with the interview. Finally, she broke the silence. “You have honorable intentions and the Will of Fire saturates your words. However intentions are nothing without some sort of means to fulfill them. How exactly do you intend to protect what you hold dear, and teach others to do the same?” Her words came off far cooler than she had intended and she almost wanted to apologize. Instead, she just took a sip of tea. Even being frigid, the words made a valid point. Kuzanku: Yumo peered at her a bit. He didn't find her question cold or the way she said it. He sighed before stating "I will die protecting my will. I will teach them the same. I plan to have them train everyday. Even if it's not shinobi training they need to be trained for life.". For a jashinist Yumo seemed rather down to earth, as if he was more normal then appeared. Suddenly, he heard a yell ring through the village faintly. He felt the chakra spike as his eyes widened a bit. The blood vessels bulging around the pupil as his hunger for blood began to show itself. His heart would begin to beat incredibly fast. Both of his hands gripped the chair tightly, his fingers digging into them as if he was being restrained. His breathing grew heavy as the powerful chakra he felt spike for just a split second had set him off. Underneath the mask he had begun to lick his lips but quickly be bit down on his lip. He was trying to stop himself, the sensation growing more and more by the second. The Hokage would probably realize quickly that he had suddenly changed. She could tell he was uneasy at the moment and ready to strike. The feeling in the air was so thick a knife could cut it. His fingers began to rip at the seat as he tried to regain himself "T-That chakra...did you feel it..". Discordia: It seemed like as good as answer as any to the question she had asked and so she smiled and rose to her feet, extending her hand out towards the man. “You will make a fine Jounin. Congratulations.” The moment was interrupted as a yell rang through the air when someone had shouted “leave me alone.” Hachi had ears capable of hearing a wolf howl ten miles away and so she tried to listen in on the scuffle taking place. The noise that reached her ears shook her to the core as it ripped through her. Kana was having even worse time with it than she was as the giant mastiff whimpered and shirked back in attempt to escape it. Then there was silence, sweet beautiful silence with sinister undertones. Her body barely had time to react before Hikari was there, already giving a report. Hachi gave her a nod as she listened to her words, the newly appointed jounin forgotten in his chair. “Leave the apple with my assistant and explain briefly, then come back here. I need to visit the scene as soon as possible.” Hachi made her way to a rack that held two identical blades, the Kiba Swords. She lifted them, carefully, a buzz of electricity humming through them from the lightning that imbued them before she fastened them to her side. “Kana, come.” She said, ready to see if anything else could be made sense of the odd occurrence. One by One lISenseiIl: “Your life shall be ended today, Young Namikaze. You will pay for your father’s crimes. The destruction of the Leaf is imminent. It shall happen tonight.” The unknown rogue said. From his appearance which consisted of a white cloak with black outline in contrast to the other rogues which were dressed in black cloaks with white outlining, it could be believed that the white-cloaked rogue was the leader of the group. As the white-cloaked rogue spoke, Jin’s mind was overtaken by fear and adrenaline in the same moment. As a result of this, he held his chokuto blade in his right hand with a firm grip. Not knowing what else to do or say, he affirmed his stance by bending both of his legs and extending the right one. The kenjutsu stance he took was certainly not a traditional one, nor an actual one. Jin merely mimicked what he read in various books on the art of kenjutsu but due to not being fully trained in the art, it would seem as if he knew nothing about it based off of his initial stance. As Jin’s feet and legs shifted into the fighting stance, the other five black-cloaked rogues began dashing at him taking turns. One by one, they extended their swords in his direction in a stabbing motion. It was said that Jin would grow to be an extraordinary genin and a unique one upon his graduation from the Ninja Academy. As the first rogue dashed at him with the second rogue dashing from behind him, Jin parried the initial stabbing motion of the rogue’s sword and sent it flying into the air by not only colliding his blade with the rogue’s but with the momentum of the rogue’s speed, Jin sliced his blade upwards as it pierced the first rogue ninja. Blood splattered upon the edge of the blade and over Jin’s face. He was scared, yet his reflexes reacted in such a calm and graceful way an experienced shinobi would nod in approval of it. With his sword lunged into the chest of the first rogue shinobi, Jin shifted his body and spun in a 180 degree motion along with the rogue shinobi on his blade. As a result of this, the second rogue shinobi which approached him with the same initial motion had stabbed the body of the first rogue. The second rogue shinobi’s sword pierced the first rogue’s abdomen and then protruded through the other side of the skin. Due to the second rogue’s speed and initial momentum with the thrust of his sword, he did not notice Jin’s sword protruding through his allies’ chest and thus ran into the blade at the exact same moment he intended to pierce Jin. Yanking his blade from the two rogues, Jin moved and dashed to the side to grab his backpack and then began dashing directly for the village. His face and blade stained with the blood of his sudden enemies. As the young boy began dashing for the village, the other remaining rogue shinobi followed shortly behind with haste. A Canine Smirk RavynGrimm: Having returned to the Forest where his Aunt Shippo had brought him up as a real Inuzuka, the masked male would bring a hand to the metal plate, glistening in what light could reach through the all encompassing canopy far above. He was here gathering herbs for the various medicines he concocted, as well as some of the more rare, and highly poisonous plants found in the darker parts of Training area Fourty Four. Midorimaru broke him from his pleasant day dreaming with the all to real reminder that he was no longer a Konoha shinobi. He was a Missing Nin, and technically, so was Midorimaru. This ugly truth hastened his search once more, until he saw a young shinobi run right past him, followed closely but a small group of cloaked thugs. He’d though he caught the words crime and namikaze, though everything else was lost in his ze. “Midori..” came his inhumane growl, his voice harsh from adapting to the speech of beasts rather than that of man, “ Heaven and Earth as one, alight?” With a canine smirk and a flash of her still perfect, razor edged fangs, she leapt into the air, landing with a flip on his shoulders. In a matter of seconds there were now two of him, each wearing the same green and black coat, the same mask and metal plate beneath. Each of them was crouched over, their bodies having adapted a Four Legged stance. That would be the last anyone would have the chance to see the duo as the took off after the group. One of the nin racing along the road, the other dashing silently from tree limb to tree limb, careful to to disturb even the driest of leaves. For now, they’d follow, striking true when the time called for it. Luckily, with his change in garb, the guards wouldn’t recognized him as the ninja once known as Kesin Inuzuka. These days he was know by the alias Kusanoo, and that was how it would stay, his true self locked behind the swirling patterns of his mask. Discordia: “Ah, you can return to your post, it slipped my mind that you are on guard duty. Just keep your eyes opened and I will figure out what happened.” Hachi gave a nod to the girl before adding “Well done, by the way.” With her hand resting on the hilt of her sword and Kana at her side, the Hokage left behind the mansion and made her way through the streets. It was not a long stroll to the ally way, and nin were already there cleaning up the mess. The three bodies were laid out with white sheets draped over them. As she approached the shinobi who were handling things gave her a nod of acknowledgement and she waved them back to work as they interviewed witnesses and gathered evidence. While rubble and debris marred the street as if a small explosion had taken place, it seemed the bodies had been clear of the area and they seemed to have no indication as the cause of death. Hachiko followed the path of destruction to a point where her back was to a fence and she was looking out of the ally. The damage started then gradually faded from where she was standing. “Come on Kana, what do you smell?” Hachi also inhaled deeply. The ally was full of smells and the intertwined and over lapped. Kana gave a bark and she smiled. “Good boy.” The dog made his way through the village bumping into anyone who would interrupt the path his nose was following. It led them straight to the gates; hopefully the two nin guarding it had seen something. She approached the guards and they both nodded and greeted her, asking how they could help her. “I was wondering if any strangers had passed through here today. Anyone worth noticing?” She asked. The two guards looked at each other for a moment as they tried to recall all the faces that had passed through. “No, not really. Well, except for the beggar. He was half starved and begged for some food. I gave him an apple and he headed in.” Well it seemed she was on the right track. “I need you to report to the Intelligence Division. Tell them it is regarding the incident that took part in the ally and that you witnessed the suspect. I will stay here and look over the gate till you return. “ First Line of Defense Discordia: Hachiko could smell the blood on Jin long before he rushed through the gates, and this time the blood she smelled was most definitely human. Kana smelled it too and the fur on his neck stood up, creating a black mane streaked with brown around his face as he arched his back and snapped his teeth in a series of sharp barks that perforated the air drawing the attention of others to the situation. Hachiko gave a nod to the boy who had dashed through the gates. Though it was a brief movement that only lasted seconds at best, it was meant to say “job well done” and “go take care of yourself, I will handle this from here.” Hachiko’s visage completed shifted as she made her way towards the gate. Gone was her typical girlish looks and instead her eyes glared out with the fiercest expression, one of pure beastly feralness. It harmonized perfectly with the deep growl that had been ripped from her lips. She took a moment to listen to the words that came from the man foolish enough to threaten her village. Her footsteps were slow and calculating as she made her way to the gates, stopping just on the other side of them, not even a foot past them. “Do you believe you have the power to do that? The four of you… who could not even catch a genin?” Simultaneously, she reached for the two swords, which were mirror images of each other, from their home at her hip. “That genin was a genin of the Leaf, and is precious to me, just as this village I swore to protect is beloved to me. And you have come here to threaten what is priceless to me and for that you will pay dearly, because you have to get through me to get to the leaf. I am Hokage Hachiko Moto and I am the first line of defense for this village.” Hachi’s voice showed no wavering as she continued to glare at the man in the white robe. Without saying another word, she raised the swords into the air, crossing them above her head. The air cracked and sizzled as the blades came alive in her hands and a bolt of lightning shot from the blades upward towards, only to come down where the four men were standing. The current that hit them would not kill them but the force was enough to send them flying through the air as the ground grumbled beneath where their feet had just supported them. Hachi sparred no time and slipped the swords away, created a hand sign and began to channel her chakra into an electoral current that coursed through her body begging to escape. She continued to channel as she walked towards the forms that were now shifting as they struggled to their feet in the cloud of dust that was created when the earth had collapsed. Self-Defense XxdeadrikxX: Feeling so out of breath he could hardly even move at all, but it seemed he managed to gain some distance from the scene, escaping the ally way before anyway could see him. A few hours passed, after he climbed into a abandoned apartment located just near the Ramen shop to the west of it. Fairly large like a bright orange at most 2 stories. He just sat there, legs crossed and hands fidgeting around with each other as he seemed to daze off and just stare at he wall. He wondered how he was able to do that? Where did that strength come from? It was exactly how he felt when he took on all those Shinobi that surrounded him. He couldn't help but remember the day o the feeling by being out of control and damaging everything, taking lives. It was like a nightmare that began in reality not as a dream. He sighed heavily looking around the room as he stood up. Shojin neared the window as he took a quick glimpse outside, the suspense he felt of doing so hoping no one had follow him. His eyes inches away from looking over and out, then a bird came flying upward in his face causing him to jump back with his guard, but he relaxed. "Just a bird..." He mumbled shaking his head. A moment passed his mind racing with thoughts once more, this time about those three guys and then he began to hear a conversation just below, speaking of it. Three men dead was all he heard, even the part about the ally way looking as if someone just attempted to shake it down. He knew it was him and he couldn't help but feel guilt, even though he never meant it. He hoped someone would see it as self defense. Self defense?! A self defense that takes someones life? That is the question he fought hard to answer for himself. He walked around the room thinking and just pacing back and forth. Discordia: When the Hokage tells you to do something, you do it… and so the guard made his way to through the streets rather quickly his mind stirring as he heard all the whispers about the incident in the ally. The kid that he had given the apple to was not that big and he had looked starved and broken to the point of where he was desperate enough to beg food and kindness from a stranger, what kind of trouble would some like that be able to get into so quickly. The guard scratched his head, even though he had only met the kid for less than a minute he was concerned for whatever the kid had managed to get himself into. His lips formed a slight frown as he made his way to the office that housed the information department and sighed as he passed through the door. The office was a flurry of activity as ninjas moved to and fro with various stacks of papers and such. Once at the desk, he explained his purpose as they lead him to a small room. He was unsure of how much time had passed before a Shinobi entered. He had expected an interview of some sort and was a bit shocked when the ninja began to hook his head up to some weird apparatus and then told him to think back on the moment when he encountered the kid. Then the ninja devolved into his mind. It was invasive and uncomfortable as his thoughts collided with the other shinobi’s like a cold trickling shadow that pried apart his mind. It lasted mere seconds before the invading presence pulled back out and left him alone to his thoughts. Within minutes, the ninja had sketched out the exact likeness of the kid’s face and the guard was left dumbfounded as he was dismissed. The investigation officer headed out the door and the guard reached out and grabbed his sleeve. “Hey, you aren’t going to hurt the kid are you? It seems he was pretty down on his luck and I don’t think he was looking to cause any trouble.” The investigation officer paused for a moment and considered the guard with a furrowed brow as if he was deep in thought. “No, we just want to talk to him. No one knows what happened but him.” The guard sighed in relief before making his way out of the room and building. His shift had ended and his replacement would already be at the gates, so he made his way to the ramen shop, sliding on to a stool and ordering a bowl.